'Nuff Said: American Graphic Media

Thor: The Dark World is a better film than 2011's Thor . Many people were not excited by Thor, but Thor: TDW would not have been possible without the solid foundation created Kenneth Branagh 's vision in the first film.  In many ways, the source of Thor: TDW's superiority rests on the extension to the first film.  Characters are more engaging, Asgard and the nine realms given a bigger scope, and key elements of the Marvel Comics print universe Asgard are presented and embellished for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  This was a great movie going experience. I don't want to spoil anything, but there is a tremendous Captain America: Winter Soldier   clip before and an amazing post credit sequence. In many ways, Thor: TDW adds to our understanding of Marvel Studio Phase 2 events and sets up an awesome Thor 3!

Invasion of the Bodybuilders - Newsweek It is no surprise that the new crop of superhero movies feature strong male characters. Comics book have always offered an idealized version of white male power. While the physicality of these characters may shift, as authority figures, superheroes are always reflect our collective vision about ourselves. As this article points out, this summer's superhero crop plays up these idea. From Thor to Captain America, these characters represent the values and ideas the U.S. citizens wants to believe about themselves. The next big release, Green Lantern will continue this trend. Ryan Reynold's Green Lantern has already appeared shirtless in trailer, flown a fighter jet, and kissed the girl. In the comic, Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) is a test pilot given the job of galactic guardian. As a 1960s character, he embodies atomic age Cold War U.S. values. He is white, males, brave, and stalwart defender of traditional values. It makes sense to mak...

If Ye Be Worthy: Thor and Identity and Idris Elba A recent essay for PopMatters.com allowed me the chance to explore race and identity through the comic lens. With Ages of Heroes, Eras of Men, the anthology on superheroes and the U.S. experience finally coming together, I can see how superheroes are linked to the American experience in complex ways demonstrated in every essay. This comes as the summer crop of superhero films continues to develop the cinematic framework for superheroes in interesting ways. With Thor behind us, we can look forward to Green Lantern in June and Captain America in July. Like Thor, both offer important windows into the symbolic power represented by superheroes, but they also raise questions about how our the symbolic power of these heroic narrative blind us to the reality our world.

'Thor' comes to the big screen: What's a Norse god doing in a Marvel comic? Some quick reflection on Thor by me were incorporated into this Christian Science Monitor article by Gloria Goodale . All in all, I think Thor is significant success for Marvel. Satisfying on its own as a summer film, the elements of the cinematic universe Marvel is building are on display in this film. Like the print universe before it, the idea of a shared universe provides the kind of excitement for film goers that it has long provided to comic book fandom for decades.

In the aftermath of yet another confrontation between Republicans and Democrats over budget policy and the promise of future conflicts, it is worthwhile to step back and consider the traditionalist appeal in the context of superhero comics. The “traditionalist appeal” in this context is the resurrection of classic characters in recent comicbook superhero stories. While the political debate rarely directly spills onto the comic page, the sense of the political environment does, and often with startling results. Whether pro-war sentiment associated with Captain America’s first appearance punching Adolf Hitler or a flurry of President Obama appearances , comics are not divorced from the political climate. Superhero comics and society inform each other, contextualizing values, delineating beliefs, and highlighting concerns associated with political debates. Thus, feminist critiques elicit change in the status and action of female characters, and concerns about racial equity trigger...